By 1950 only about 60 percent of the homes in the United States had a telephone. And since one of the best ways to sell a product is by appealing to kids, AT&T created this 18-minute film called Adventure in Telezonia that somehow manages to teach, terrify, and sell, all at the same time.

The film was actually distributed to schools as a way to educate grade school kids on proper phone usage, and came with other 'educational' propaganda and even a set of fake telephones so kids could practice and master the art of lifting a handset and saying hello. Who knows, maybe if Palm had taken a similar approach—infiltrating schools with similar educational films about its products—Web OS might still be alive and kicking today. [YouTube]